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The Lost One (Legion of Thieves)
The Legion of Thieves ''' '''The Lost One I''' '''Xaro Leitz Liana and Trystan ran ahead of me through the underground tunnel as we made our way to the atrium. Their Imperial Gold and Stygian Iron necklaces flashed in the dim light. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and everyone was off doing their own thing. Dawn and Pratt left early in the morning and gods only know where they went. Max was in the common room watching his "Football" game, Lissa and Ania were working on something in the library, and as far as I knew, Benedict had just woken up. The doors to the atrium opened and I was met with sensory overload. The smells of exotic flowers, bright light from the noon-day sun, and heat from the artificial tropical climate hit me all at once. The atrium was one of the most beautiful places in the HQ especially on an autumn day like this one. It was originally built as a place just for Trystan and Liana to stay but quickly turned into a much bigger project. My Jaguars took off into the dense tree line while I walked over to a hammock near the lazy river that wound its way around the atrium. I hopped in and stretched out, thumbing through my Sherlock Holmes novel until I found my. I began reading and an hour later, just before I was about to finish, Trystan and Liana started roaring. I nearly flipped out of my hammock as I tried to get to my feet. I looked around and saw my Jaguars chasing a large bird through the clearing. The bird soared to the top of a tree and I finally realized it was Max's phoenix, Myriah. She looked down at Trystan and Liana who were circling the tree. I called them off and they reluctantly came over and sat down beside me. "Xaro!" A voice called from the entrance. I looked over and saw Max jogging over in his Manchester United soccer jersey. He seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, but I quickly realized it was the three necklaces, four armbands, earrings the size of marbles and six rings. "What's wrong?" I asked bending to pick up my Sherlock Holmes. "How'd you know something was wrong?" He asked as his pet phoenix landed on his shoulder. "There are very few things that will tear you away from a Soccer game. Now what is it?" I demanded. Max took a breath. I knew he hated it when people called his favorite sport "soccer", being British and all. But he was living in America now and had to get used to it. "There's a couple here who have requested to see you." I gave him a puzzled look. "What do they want?" "They wouldn't say. But they seemed desperate, the woman wouldn't stop crying. They're in the meeting room waiting for you." I sighed. "Alright, I'll be down to meet them momentarily. Just uhh... give me a minute to get changed." I said looking down at my shorts and tank top. Max nodded and ran through the exit as fast as he could to watch the rest of his game. I turned back to Trystan and Liana. "Behave yourselves now, I have to go to a consultation. Shouldn't take more than five minutes." I muttered to myself. I took the subterranean tunnel back to the main building. I had personally put up powerful wards that prevented teleportation into or out of HQ so no one could get in without walking through the front door. It also kept certain people out of certain rooms. As I neared the meeting room I snapped my fingers causing my tank top and shorts to melt away and a black suit and tie to appear. I stopped in front of a mirror and fixed my hair. I opened the double doors and found two people, a man and a woman, sitting at the board-room-style table. The man was tall and muscular with dark brown hair, blue eyes and a rugged looking beard. The woman was maybe a head shorter than the man with blonde, shoulder length hair, and though they were red from crying I could tell they were blue also. "Good afternoon," I said as I walked in. "I'm Xaro Leitz. You requested a meeting with me?" I asked. "Yes thank you," The man said standing up. "My name is Matthew Williams. This is my wife Melissa." I shook hands with Matthew and placed a hand over Melissa's, Matthew and I then sat down. "Now what is it the Legion can do for you? Our mandate is to help those who cannot help themselves. If it is within our power we will do everything possible to help you." I explained. Melissa tried to pull herself together but broke down crying again. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a black handkerchief. I handed it to her then turned to Matthew. "Can you shed some light on your situation?" I asked hoping he could keep it together. He took a breath and silently slid a photo across the table. I took the photo and held it up. It was a picture of a young boy. He was maybe eight years old and had light brown hair and starling blue eyes. "That's our son Michael." Matthew said quietly causing me to quickly look up. "He disappeared a week ago and we haven't seen him since." He looked on the verge of tears himself. "Have you gone to the police?" I asked. Pulling a pen and notebook from a drawer. "Yes!" Melissa gasped causing me to jump. "But they haven't found him!" She then broke down crying again. I began jotting down notes and asking more questions. Michael had been missing for exactly seven days. They had woken up on Monday morning and he hadn't come down to breakfast. When Melissa went up to check on him she found that he was gone. There was no sign of forced entry and none of his belongings were missing. Michael was home schooled so no friends, no one who wished the family ill-will, and he seemed to get along just fine with his parents. "Do you have any of Michael's belongings with you incase we need to track him?" I asked. Melissa sniffed but reached under her seat and brought out a small brown teddy bear. She placed it on the table and I gingerly took it. "It was his favorite toy." She said forcing a smile. I returned the smile and placed the teddy bear next to me. "Okay, one last question." I said as a thought crossed my mind. "Was Michael in anyway different? Did he exhibit any abnormal traits or supernatural abilities? Matthew seemed to be taken aback. "What does that have to do with Michael being missing?" I smiled. "In my line of work I have encountered many things that go beyond that which we know." Melissa and Matthew both stated that they noticed nothing unusual in Michael. "Alright well I will file this case, assign a team and I will contact you when we being our investigation. In the meantime please call me with any additional information you may come up with." I wrote down my number and handed them the slip of paper. "Before we leave," Matthew said reaching into his pocket. "I would like to guarantee that you will find our son." He pulled out a check and passed it to me face down. Then the couple stood and began to walk out. "We'll be in touch." Matthew said as he closed the door behind him. I wrote down the last of my notes then sighed and grabbed the check. I glanced at it, put back on the table and snatched it up again. "Well this changes things." "Catt!" I shouted. C.A.T.T. was the HQ's advanced computer system. Her name stands for 'C'omputer 'A'ssistantt 'T'o 'T'hieves and is one of the best things I ever stole. Her original blueprints and programming were developed by some billionaire computer geek. He was planning to sell Catt to the highest bidder on the black market. Thankfully I swiped the blueprints and programming before some terrorist cell or evil genius got ahold of them. "Yes Xaro?" Catt asked. "Type up a report on what just transpired in this room then call the team down for an emergency meeting." I ordered. "Can I get a please?" She asked sarcastically. That's right! An artificial intelligence with a sense of humor. "Please?" "Certainly." "Have Dawn and Pratt returned yet?" "My sensors show that they are not on the premises." "Figures." I muttered. See if you can't get a fix on them. I said lossening the tie from around my neck. I watched the monitor at the front of the room until a video feed of Dawn and Pratt appeared. They were just exiting First Bank of DC, each carrying a bulky messenger bag. I sighed and snapped my fingers. Immediately a shadow portal appeared on the monitor in fron of them and one also appeared in the board room. I watched as they stopped, looked at each other then stepped through. The monitor switched off as the two stumbled into the board room. Dawn shot me a look but I held up my hand. "Have a seat, I've called an emergency meeting and the other's should be here shortly. You can explain why you were at that bank later." I scolded. "All we did was make a withdrawal." Pratt explained swinging the messenger bag on the table with a loud Bang! ''I rolled my eyes and gestured for them to sit down. After a few minutes the others began drifting in. Max showed up ten minutes later with a smile on his face so I guess his team won. "Thank you all for coming, I'm going to get right to the point: We have been handed a unique mission. Catt if you would?" I asked turning to the screen at the front of the Meeting room. Michael's picture appeared on the screen. "This is Michael Williams, son of Matthew and Melissa Williams. He's been missing for seven days now." I paused allowing the information to sink in. "We have been tasked with finding Michael and returning him to his parents." "This doesn't seem like our normal job Xaro. Are we getting paid?" Max asked. "I mean I know it's the right thing to do but is it worth our while?" "Trust me Max, this is well worth our time and energy." I passed the check around the table and watched as each of their eyes popped out of their heads. "So... what's the plan? Ania asked. I took the check back and placed it in my pocket. "I want you and Max to head down to the police station and see if you can't get the case file from them. We'll need to pick up where they left off. Dawn and Pratt I want you two to go to the Williams' address and question the neighbors. Maybe they saw something or now why Michael disappeared." I held out my hand and four FBI badges materialized, I slid them across the table to each of them. "What about me?" Lissa asked. "I have a special task for you." I said extending my hand. Michael's teddy bear floated into the air. "This belonged to Michael. I want you to see if you can't find a way to track him with it... And for the love of the gods see if Ben is awake yet!" "What are you going to be doing?" Dawn asked, looking me dead in the eye. I whistled and moments later Trystan and Liana came thundering into the room. "I'm sending these two out after his scent along with dozens of shadow clones. Meanwhile Catt and I will be hacking into every surveillance camera we can find to see if he appears on any of them." I held out the teddy bear, allowing Trystan and Liana to get Michael's scent. Once they had the scent I snapped my fingers, the doors to the meeting room swung open and they ran back out. I tossed the teddy bear to Lissa who held it like a priceless Ming vase. "Any questions... Dismissed!" I said with a wave of my hand. Everyone pushed back their chairs and made for the exit. I sat down for a few minutes and looked at the photo of Michael. I rubbed my eyes then turned back to the monitor. "Catt, isolate all surveillance cameras within a mile radius of the Williams's home, then expand the search radius. See if Michael appears on any of them." I said leaning back in my chair. For the next hour I watched as Catt began scanning every camera for a possible sighting of Michael. At some point my eyes started to droop and Ben woke me up. "Hey Xaro, Lissa brought me up to speed on the missing kid case. Is there any thing you want me to do?" He asked. "Umm yeah just watch the monitors and see if Catt picks anything up. I'm going out to join the search. My sure you alert me if you guys find anything of use." "Alright, no problem." He replied taking my chair as I exited the meeting room. I streched and cracked my nck then made my way to the foyer. "Xaro!" Lissa shouted as I walked past the lab. She ran up to me holding Michael's teddy bear. "You found him already?" I asked in disbelief. "No, that's just it... I can't... find him. None of my tracing, tracking and scrying spells are working. It's like... It's like he's disappeared off the face of the Earth." She sighed. "You mean he's dead!?" I demanded. Lissa shook her head. "No, my spells would've told me if he was dead. Michael ''is alive but he's either hidden very well or like I said he's not on Earth." I scratched my head in confusion. "Have you tried all your spells?" "I've tried every spell I know and preformed them to the letter multiple times! I can look into more advanced rituals but they will take time to not only study but to preform." She explained. I noticed she had dark circles under her eyes and her face looked pale. Tell-tale sighs she had been using up her magic reserves. "Lissa why don't you go to the kitchen and take a break. I think there's still a slice of that chocolate cake left in the fridge from Pratt's birthday." Lissa blinked then smiled. Chocolate, believe it or not, restores ones magical energy faster than anything else. "Here maybe you'll be able to find him with it." Lissa said handing me the teddy bear before walking to the kitchen. I looked down as the small toy with confusion. Last month, Lissa located a small plane that disappeared in Alaska and was able to rescue the pilot before he froze to death. So what was giving her so much trouble finding one kid? I continued to contemplate her predicament and without realizing it I had walked out of the headquarters, a brisk wind picked up causing me to shiver. I waved my hand and a black coat wrapped itself around me. I then stomped my foot and eight shadow clones stood in front of me. I held up the picture of Michael and each of my clones nodded. They flew into the air and took off in each of the cardinal and sub-cardinal directions. I closed my eyes and felt myself transported through the shadows. When I opened my eyes again I was hovering just above of the Washington Monument. I crossed my legs and took several deep breaths then closed my eyes again. As I levitated there I began reading the minds of evey person in the area. Then I tapped into the magic energy surronding the obelisk to act as an antenna. I felt my mind's reach expand ten-fold, allowing me to hear people's thoughts as far away as Kansas City. I began narrowing my search, focusing on males less than ten years of age. Even with more than three-forths of the population out of the way it was still going to take me a while to find him. After an hour of searching I had covered most of New England when Dawn's voice reverberated through my head. "Hey Xaro!" "Dawn don't think so loud, I can hear you just fine. Have you and Pratt found anything?" "Negativo. It's a nice neighborhood, gated, security guard at the front, kinda place any upperclass family would live. Everyone's friendly enough but the neighbors have never seen Michael. They didn't even know the Williams's had kids. Giusto strano?" "It is weird... Go to the hospital and dig up Melissa's medical records." "Perche?" "If my hunch is right it'll make sense once you get there. ''I then cut the connection and contacted Ania. ''"Hey Ania you there?" "Ow yeah, what's up?" "Did you guys manage to dig anything up on the Williams's?" "Umm, no the weird thing is they never reported Michael missing to the police. And as far as we could tell neither have a criminal record." '' ''"Ok go back to headquarters we're going to have to regroup. Something just isn't adding up." "Right we'll see you there." I cut the connection to Ania and shadow traveled back to the front door of Headquarters. The doors swung open for me as I made my way inside. "Xaro," Catt called out over the loud spearkers. "Perfect timing I've located our missing target." "What!?" I demanded. "Where is he!?" "I picked him up on a surveillance camera near the Washington Monument thirty-eight seconds ago." I felt like someone had smacked me in the head. I was just there, how had I missed him? Lissa and Ben appeared at the top of the stairs and ran towards me. I spun on my heel and stalked back out the door. I pressed my fingers to my temple and sent a telepathic message to everyone: "All Legionnaires get to the Washington Monument as soon as possible. That's an order!" I thrust out my hand, opening a portal back to the Monument. I turned and Ben and Lissa were standing next to me. "Let's go!" I shouted and we jumped into the portal. Category:SonOfZeus1200 Category:The Legion of Thieves